RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born 266 AD in Basel to dimension-hopping inventors from the 23rd century, Xylon learned from his mother how to make advanced weapons, and from his father how to use them. Now he travels across space and time in search of his next fight.
Born in 2261 AD in Seia, Sennian spent his youth piloting luxury space liners alongside his father, traveling the solar system in opulence. When his parents were brutally murdered by cyborg mafia assassins, he inherited a modest fortune but was left driven by vengeance. Now a charismatic cyberchariot racer in the Hypodrome, Sennian channels his skill and swagger to win the crowd’s favor while secretly funding a Lusitanian independence movement led by a clone of the ancient revolutionary leader Viriathus.
Born in 295 AD in Tarraco, Spain, Sisera Hispaniola, a convicted murderer, was sent to the gladiator pits as punishment, where he found great success. Fearing his rise in popularity, Emperor Constantine had Sisera thrust into a dimensional portal where he continued to dominate the colosseum in a distant future timeline.
Born 266 AD in Trento, Uto was part of the mysterious Cthulu Cohort that, disappeared in a cave and returned as cybernetic drones puppeteered by an extradimensional alien force loyal to Emperor Diocletian.
Born 2029 AD in Ebusus, Cassian is an interdimensional raver who drifts between realities, constantly chasing the next great EDM show. His path leads him to Elektrosar, a timeless bass-heavy festival that runs sempiternally in the ancient Hanging Gardens of a 25th-century Babylonian utopia. During a Chemical Sisters set, Cassian exchanges kandy with the unattainable PLUR princess Saba Nebunoida, a moment that turns his world upside down and sparks an unhealthy obsession.
Born 126 AD in Colonia, Sextus is a bath house owner and sculptor famous for his phallic figurines. A follower of Bacchus, he caroused across dimensions to celebrate Saturnalia in search of new models for his exquisite statues.
Born 49 AD in Virunum, Valentin is a common soldier and timid husband of Acca who lived in the shadow of his wife until she was killed defending Emperor Domitian from assassins; henceforth, Valentin vowed revenge on those responsible for her death.
Born 123 BC on the mystical isle of Læsø, Sigrid comes from an advanced tribe of wealthy salt barons with access to interdimensional travel. When not gallivanting through the future, she spends her time training champion ‘golden retriever’ canines on her remote, bucolic island paradise.
Born in 222 AD in Burdigala, Tilda grew up as a rebellious youth, often staying out all night fighting and reveling in the streets. One night she was picked up by a gang of time traffickers who pressed her into service as a gladiator in the 28th century. She made it her mission to return home to her grieving family.
Born 77 AD in Agrigento, Alan collects all species of birds from Africa, creates genetic copies of them and peddles the fowl replicants at his commercial aviary in Rome.
Born 1969 AD in Lugdunum, Vivienne is a 42x Olympic shooting gold medalist and undefeated Universal Laser Tag League (ULTL) champion. A household name across galaxies and dimensions, she is known for her ironclad mettle and heart of stainless steel.
Born in 255 BC in Hecatompylos, Helya, a direct descendant of Alexander the Great, was a Parthian emissary who learned martial arts in China, later becoming a great warrior who singlehandedly rooted out and eliminated a cohort of dimension hopping alien invaders.
Born 1998 in Dyrrachium, Dardana is a superstar singer who was abducted by time traffickers and forced to perform in Diocletian’s palace as the Emperor’s personal chanteuse.
Born in 109 BC in Coracesium, Calypso was an infamous pirate queen who wreaked havoc on Roman shipping until she was captured by Pompey and sentenced to fight in the gladiator pits of Rome.
Born in 259 AD in Sarmizegetusa, Wynni was a soldier in the Vandal army that lost to Probus at the Lech river and were exiled to Britain. Seeking revenge, she entered an interdimensional portal at Stonehenge and returned decades later with advanced tactics and equipment to defeat the Roman imperialists once and for all.
